Golden light coalesced in Xue Qinghe's hand, while Tang San, under the influence of the Angel Domain's purification ability, was unable to gather even a thread of Soul Power.
"Tang San, farewell. Let me personally end your life. This is the last thing I can do for you. Rest assured, I will give you a grand burial. I will also remember you forever. Before you die, let me show you my true face. I trust that with this, you can die without regrets."
As she spoke, Xue Qinghe raised her other hand, reaching into her inner garment. With a flick of her wrist, she swiftly lifted and pulled away a peculiar mask that had been attached deep to her hairline.
Although he was on the brink of life and death, Tang San couldn't help but contract his pupils in shock when he saw Xue Qinghe's true face. The person before him now, though still possessing a man's build, revealed a cold, stunningly beautiful countenance. On the surface, she appeared to be only in her early twenties, with skin as white as snow and phoenix eyes that held a commanding air. Compared to the originally approachable Xue Qinghe, she was far more distinctive. A straight nose, slightly slender phoenix eyes, and a face carrying a hint of majestic authority. At first glance, she didn't possess the same level of beauty as Ning Rongrong or Xiao Wu, but that icy majesty was something Tang San had only ever seen on Bibi Dong's face. This descendant of the former Spirit Hall Pope, who had impersonated Crown Prince Xue Qinghe for so long, turned out not to be a man at all. How could Tang San not be shocked?
The golden light in Xue Qinghe's hand grew increasingly dense. Looking at Tang San, her eyes held an indescribable complexity of emotions, the most prominent being regret—regret that such a talent had to be destroyed by her own hand.
"My real name is Qian Renxue. Tang San, to die at my hands, you are finally not an ignorant ghost." As she spoke, her raised right hand descended slowly through the air. Its speed was deliberate, and her eyes remained fixed on Tang San. Under the threat of death, she believed this would exert maximum psychological pressure on him. After all, in her heart, she still held a sliver of hope. In her view, as long as one was human, they would fear death.
Tang San smiled faintly. "Man or woman, it makes no difference to me. Your identity holds absolutely no significance. Since you hail from Spirit Hall, you can only be my enemy. No wonder you would impulsively reveal your secret—behind that decisiveness lies a touch of hesitation. So, you are a woman."
Just at that moment, a powerful shout came from the distant imperial palace. "Who are you people, daring to trespass into the palace?"
Qian Renxue's expression shifted slightly, the light in her eyes finally replaced by sharp decisiveness, revealing her ruthless and resolute nature. Her right hand suddenly accelerated, and a colossal golden light slash, three meters wide, descended from the sky, slashing directly toward Tang San. Having resolved to destroy Tang San, she had put forth her full strength in this strike.
At the very instant Qian Renxue's attack was unleashed, the blue-gold light of the Blue Silver Emperor on Tang San's body flashed and vanished. The red Soul Ring lit up in that fleeting moment, and a hazy, graceful figure drifted out, positioning itself in front of Tang San.
Long hair flowing, skin surpassing snow, it was none other than Xiao Wu in her soul form!
Facing Qian Renxue's brilliant golden light slash, Xiao Wu's expression changed slightly. As a manifestation of a Soul Skill, she shared the same intangible effect as Tang San's sixth Soul Skill, but even more thoroughly so. Any physical or energy attack would have no effect on her body. However, precisely because of this, she was also unable to block any form of attack.
Thus, though she had forcibly unleashed this sixth Soul Skill using the power of her soul, her current form could not shield Tang San from this blow.
Just then, a wondrous scene occurred. Xiao Wu's eyes suddenly blazed with brilliant pink radiance, making them as dazzling as precious gems.
Drawn by that pink light, a figure drifted from Tang San's waist, instantly merging with Xiao Wu in midair.
Turning, diving, Xiao Wu spread her arms, her long hair sweeping back over Tang San's shoulder. Her entire body plunged into his embrace, using her own body to shield him. And in that very instant, the golden light slash in midair descended.
The figure that had suddenly appeared from Tang San's waist was, of course, Xiao Wu's physical body. In this instant, Xiao Wu's physical body and her soul had united as one.
Tang San could clearly feel that Xiao Wu's body was no longer hollow. The searing emotion filling it shook him to his core. Xiao Wu—this was the real Xiao Wu.
Tang San wanted to move, to twist his body and intercept that golden light blade, but he utterly couldn't. There wasn't a shred of Soul Power left within him. The purification energy infused into his meridians wasn't enough to harm him, but whenever he tried to gather even a little Soul Power, it would be neutralized by the purification energy within his body. How could his strength possibly contend with Xiao Wu's right now?
Xiao Wu's eyes, shimmering with a faint pink glow, gazed deeply at Tang San as she held his waist tightly. In this moment, only Tang San existed in her eyes, as if the golden light blade slashing down upon her back simply wasn't there.
"Xiao Wu—" Seeing the golden light fall upon Xiao Wu, Tang San's heart clenched with agony. Their bodies were simultaneously hurled upward by the tremendous force.
A look of satisfaction graced Xiao Wu's lovely face. She had once again protected the man she loved most. Her eyes softened tenderly as she looked at Tang San's eyes, which had turned red. "Ge—"
A soft call, yet it resonated directly with Tang San's soul. Months had passed, and hearing Xiao Wu's call again, the red in his eyes completely faded. He spoke with a trembling voice, "Xiao Wu, my Xiao Wu..."
With a faint, sweet smile, Xiao Wu released her arms from around Tang San and sprang upward, her body weightless as it shot straight toward the slowly descending Qian Renxue. The fabric on her back had torn open a huge rift, revealing the white armor beneath—the divine-tier Eight Treasure Ruyi Soft Armor.
Having suffered severe injuries, Qian Renxue's attacks could no longer exceed the level of a sixtieth-ranked cultivator. Therefore, her light slash had only pushed Tang San and Xiao Wu's bodies but couldn't harm Xiao Wu's physical form. Xiao Wu had temporarily reunited her soul with her perfectly compatible physical body through the call of her soul, and it was this physical form that had saved Tang San.
Xiao Wu dove toward Qian Renxue. The tenderness in her eyes vanished, replaced by bone-chilling coldness. Her body soared through the air, shifting form several times in rapid succession. In the time it took to blink a few times, she had arrived before Qian Renxue.
The two women locked eyes. Qian Renxue was horrified—she knew full well about the sacrifice Xiao Wu had made to save Tang San. She simply couldn't fathom why Xiao Wu was now alive and appearing before her.
But in Xiao Wu's eyes, there was only killing intent. Her arms spread wide, and her entire body was enveloped in a layer of intense pink radiance.
Qian Renxue was about to gather her strength to attack Xiao Wu, but a slight pain pricked her chest, causing her Angel Soul Power to stutter for a moment. In that brief pause, Xiao Wu had already closed in upon her.
Xiao Wu's arms wrapped around Qian Renxue's arms, which were pushing out to ward her off, like supple snakes. With a sway of her slender waist, she completed the lock on Qian Renxue in the instant of that entanglement, her entire body coiling around Qian Renxue's form.
Under Xiao Wu's lock, Qian Renxue's body went completely rigid. Xiao Wu's body, which had been transformed by two supreme-grade immortal herbs, was even more flexible than before. Suddenly, Qian Renxue's body was whirled upward by Xiao Wu's force. Being in midair, Xiao Wu wasn't employing the Eight-Fold Body Drop; having regained her physical form, she was temporarily free from the constraints of being a Soul Skill of Tang San.
It looked as though Xiao Wu and Qian Renxue's bodies had formed a giant wheel, spinning rapidly and continuously through the air. Occasionally, pink and golden light would seep out—pink at the core, gold at the outer edge. Anyone could feel the surging waves of energy within growing stronger and stronger.
The Hedgehog Douluo and the Serpent Douluo's expressions changed simultaneously. They exchanged a glance, and the Hedgehog Douluo lunged forward. His already massive body, in the state of Martial Soul True Body, expanded further, and his ninth Soul Ring finally lit up. With Qian Renxue facing mortal danger, these two Titled Douluo could no longer hold back and prepared to unleash their strongest abilities.
The black flames burning on Yang Wudi's body surged suddenly, and his eighth Soul Ring lit up. At the same time, on the other side, Dugu Bo's ninth Soul Ring also flared brightly. The body of the Emerald Serpent King became completely translucent, as if carved from true emerald.
In the air, within that wheel of light, the golden light flashed intensely time and again. Clearly, Qian Renxue was trying every method to break free, but no matter how she struggled, in her severely injured state, she still couldn't escape Xiao Wu's Soft Technique. She could only spin helplessly with Xiao Wu's body, hurtling toward the ground.
The Serpent Douluo shifted back to human form, his Serpent Lance trembling as it instantly extended and lengthened, lashing toward the wheel of light in the air. To save Qian Renxue, he could no longer worry about the Hedgehog Douluo being besieged.
Just as the Serpent Lance was about to strike the wheel, the wheel suddenly halted in midair. The next instant, the golden figure was flung out like a meteor, hurtling toward the Serpent Douluo with overwhelming force.
The Serpent Douluo's gaze sharpened. He circled and shook his lance, attempting to use its force to catch Qian Renxue's body. However, the moment his lance made contact with the golden light, his expression changed drastically. The impact of that "golden meteor" was far greater than he had judged.
But he was, after all, a Titled Douluo. His lance continuously drew circles of light, attempting to use soft power to counteract the tremendous impact.
BOOM—
A tremendous explosion erupted behind the Serpent Douluo. A tragic cry made his heart shudder, and his control over the force slipped for a fraction. The tremendous impact bore down, sending him flying backward with the golden, meteor-like body. He retreated more than ten steps before barely regaining his footing. To withstand such a force, he inevitably had to exert more power than intended.
The golden light stilled. Qian Renxue let out a cry as she spat a mouthful of blood onto the Serpent Douluo's chest. In the instant before she fainted, she couldn't help but turn her head to look toward Tang San's direction. Though her vision was already blurred, her eyes were still filled with unwillingness. Only then did she slump into the Serpent Douluo's arms, losing consciousness.
The Hedgehog Douluo on the other side was not so fortunate. Although his strength was slightly greater than Dugu Bo's and his Martial Soul was a counter to Dugu Bo's, Yang Wudi's Martial Soul happened to counter his own. Even though Yang Wudi was only a Soul Douluo, his offensive power was undeniably at the Titled Douluo level.
Facing the strongest attacks of both simultaneously, the Hedgehog Douluo's fate was predictable. His expanded body was torn open once more. This time, Dugu Bo seized the opportunity, his intense emerald light directly using the terrifying corrosive power of his ninth Soul Skill to corrode away half of the Hedgehog Douluo's Martial Soul True Body form.
Dugu Bo and Yang Wudi both vomited blood, but the Hedgehog Douluo, like a broken sack, reverted to his original body and crashed down beside the Serpent Douluo. Drenched in blood, his life or death was unknown. The Soul Power released from their previous full-force collision had caused at least half of the hundred or so Soul Masters nearby to perish from the impact of their peak Soul Skills.
Dugu Bo and Yang Wudi dared not pause. Gritting through their injuries, they swiftly moved to Tang San's sides, one on the left and one on the right, guarding him.
Xiao Wu descended from the sky, once again throwing herself into Tang San's arms. The resonance from their souls caused both their bodies to tremble simultaneously.
This time, Xiao Wu did not speak. She simply gazed directly at Tang San, offering her red lips, which gently brushed against his. In the next instant, her body went limp and collapsed into Tang San's embrace. Her soul transformed back into a stream of pink light, merging into Tang San's body.
Feeling Xiao Wu's body go soft as her soul departed, a surge of intense sorrow flooded Tang San's heart. If not for Spirit Hall, how could Xiao Wu have suffered so much?
The Serpent Douluo held Qian Renxue with one arm and roared angrily, "Kill them!" The several dozen Spirit Hall Soul Masters who were still alive were all relatively high-ranked. At his command, they unleashed their Martial Souls and converged from all directions toward Tang San's group.
At this moment, Tang San and the others were already exhausted, especially Tang San himself, who had completely lost the ability to fight.
Just at this critical juncture, three figures suddenly descended from the sky, landing in a triangular formation around Tang San and his two companions, effectively shielding them within.
"Sun—Moon—Born—Radiant—Gold—en—Ro—tate."
Three intense beams of golden light erupted simultaneously from the three figures. The golden light radiated outward, instantly forming a golden triangle with the three as vertices. Inside the innermost part of the triangle was a golden ring of light, surrounded by intricate patterns.
The arrivals were none other than the Golden Iron Triangle, led by Flandre, along with the Great Master and Liu Erlong.
The three of them were now enveloped in a layer of shimmering gold. Flandre and Liu Erlong slowly closed their eyes, but the light in the Great Master's eyes grew noticeably brighter, piercing like two sharp swords toward the dozens of Soul Masters charging at them from the front.
Their compatibility rate, as high as ninety-nine percent, allowed their Martial Soul Fusion Technique to complete in an instant.
The golden-yellow light grew increasingly dazzling. From the three forming the apex, a powerful triangular pillar of light shot skyward.
At this moment, the Spirit Hall Soul Masters began launching frantic attacks at them, but under the protection of the golden light, their assaults had absolutely no effect. When the Golden Iron Triangle executed their Martial Soul Fusion Technique, the protective golden light produced an effect similar to Tang San's Invincible Golden Body.
The Great Master's gaze, previously filled with deathly coldness, suddenly became radiant. He slowly raised his right hand, pointing toward the center of the golden triangle formed by the three of them in the air.